No. 1:Reports:Knicks looking to work deal for Lowry — With guard Raymond Felton sidelined 2-3 weeks with a hamstring injury, the Knicks’ point guard depth chart consists of backups Pablo Prigioni and Beno Udrih, with the option to slide Iman Shumpert over to the point as well. That depth is apparently a concern for New York, especially given its putrid start to the season, and has the Knicks trying to work a deal for Raptors point guard Kyle Lowry. According to Yahoo!Sports.com’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Knicks may have some competition for Lowry, though:

The New York Knicks are pursuing Toronto point guard Kyle Lowry with a package of Raymond Felton, Metta World Peace and a 2018 first-round draft pick, league sources told Yahoo Sports.

The Knicks refused a Raptors proposal that would’ve included Iman Shumpert and Felton, sources told Yahoo Sports. Without a first-round pick or Shumpert, there is no traction for a deal. The Knicks have no appetite for including Shumpert or rookie Tim Hardaway Jr. in a package.

Knicks owner Jim Dolan is sensitive to the public perception that Toronto general manger Masai Ujiri bamboozled New York in the Carmelo Anthony trade, and the chance of getting panned for giving up too much in a deal for Lowry has become a hurdle in these talks, league sources told Yahoo Sports.

Ujiri was the GM of the Denver Nuggets when he negotiated a deal that included Danilo Gallinari, Wilson Chandler, Felton and Timofey Mozgov for a package that included Anthony, Chauncey Billups and a first-round draft pick.

Toronto is discussing deals for Lowry with an ever-growing list of teams, league sources said.

Several teams are pursuing Lowry, but the Knicks’ most direct competition for him could come from the Brooklyn Nets, who are also exploring the possibility of a deal, league sources said. Brooklyn has resisted the inclusion of its 2020 first-round pick in a package, nor one of its top young players, including rookie Mason Plumlee, sources said.

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Toronto officials have been scouting and calling European contacts on Bojan Bogdanovic, a 24-year-old shooting guard with whom the Nets own the rights, league sources told Yahoo Sports.

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Lowry has wanted a trade for most of the season and the Raptors became more motivated to move him after acquiring point guard Greivis Vasquez in a deal with the Sacramento Kings.

World Peace, who signed as free agent this summer, can’t be traded until Sunday, per league rules.

Yet it remains to be seen if the Raptors and Knicks can reach a consensus on deal terms this time, with Toronto said to be seeking two of the Knicks’ three best trade assets — Iman Shumpert, rookie Tim Hardaway Jr. and a future first-round pick — in addition to Raymond Felton in exchange for Lowry.

Sources told ESPN.com’s Chris Broussard on Thursday afternoon that the Knicks’ reluctance to include a first-round pick in the deal was among the factors holding things up.

The Knicks, sources say, appear willing to package one asset from the trio of Shumpert, Hardaway and a first-round pick to the Raptors along with Felton. But giving up two might prove too high a price for Lowry, who becomes an unrestricted free agent in July and can walk away for nothing at season’s end.

But the Knicks don’t possess a first-round pick they can offer Toronto, based on league rules, before 2018.

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Sources say that the Raptors are intent on getting some value for Lowry despite his looming free-agent status. When it comes to the Knicks specifically, Toronto has adopted that stance based on the premise that it is not only providing New York with a clear upgrade at the point but also taking on Felton’s longer-term salary, with Felton owed nearly $8 million over the next two seasons after this one.

No. 2:Granger won’t return to lineup just yet — Before this week’s much-anticipated Heat-Pacers showdown, our own Steve Aschburner caught up with injured Pacers forward Danny Granger. The swingman told NBA.com that he could have returned to the lineup for Tuesday’s big game, but held off so as not to draw undue attention to himself and also because he simply wasn’t ready. At the time, Granger said he thought he could possibly return tonight against Charlotte, but that won’t be happening either, writes Curt Cavin of the Indianapolis Star:

Indiana Pacers forward Danny Granger said he’s “literally day-to-day” with his return from an injured left calf, but today won’t be the day, he said after Thursday’s practice at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

“I don’t like where I’m at with my timing and my rhythm and obviously my conditioning,” he said. “I don’t think I will (play) Friday.

“I practiced today, a full-on practice, but I don’t feel like I’m ready yet. I dribbled the ball off my foot a couple of times, just things you do when you haven’t played. (I) lost the ball in transition on a pass. My rhythm isn’t there yet.”

Granger said he’s had no physical setback.

“No, no, no,” he said. “Just all game legs. I’m not going to go on the court until I’m ready.”

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Pacers coach Frank Vogel said Granger’s conditioning is as important to his return as the calf.

“He’s got to get back to all the things — conditioning, timing,” he said. “We’ll sit down and we’ll meet and figure out when the best time is.”

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Granger looked solid in the portion of Thursday’s practice open to the media, cutting hard and defending with the same voracity his teammates have shown this season.

Granger practiced some with the first unit and spent time with the second too. After the Pacers beat Miami 90-84 on Tuesday, Heat forward LeBron James seemed to think Granger fit better with the second unit because of the first unit’s cohesiveness.

“They’re a starting-lineup team; plus-90 (in efficiency) for a reason,” James said.

If Granger returns and starts, Lance Stephenson would be the one to play off the bench. Granger said he is close to putting Vogel in a position to make a decision.

“By all means I could physically play, easily,” Granger said. “But like I said, it’s more of a rhythm thing. When you’re playing at those types of speeds you have to do it for a while to get used to it again.”

Granger said he’s played five-on-five the past two days. He said his shot hasn’t been compromised.

“The shot’s always there, it’s just getting your legs into the shot,” he said. “That’s where the conditioning comes in.

“There’s a big difference between shooting and running up and down the court four times and then shooting the jump shot. That’s what you have to condition your body for.”

No. 3:Report: Grizz looking to deal Randolph — Memphis has struggled to find a rhythm all season, it seems, and at 10-11 finds itself clearly out of the playoff picture in the West. While the Grizz are hoping things will turn around once Marc Gasol returns from injury, talk is heating up in some sense regarding Gasol’s frontcourt partner in crime: Zach Randolph. According to Jared Zwerling of BleacherReport.com, Z-Bo’s name is being mentioned in a deal with the New Orleans Pelicans:

Several sources said the Grizzlies are currently shopping power forward Zach Randolph, and two of them are hearing there’s a destination and main trade piece involved: New Orleans and stretch-4 Ryan Anderson, who’s averaging a team-high 21.7 points per game on 47.7 percent shooting from three-point range.

“A trade centered around Randolph and Anderson should happen down the line this season,” one source said.

Randolph wants to stay put; he told ESPN.com last month that he would “like to retire (in Memphis).” In fact, he’s so committed to the city that on Wednesday the NBA presented him with the November Kia Community Assist Award in recognition of his charitable efforts and contributions in the community.

But Randolph is 32—seven years older than Anderson—and the Grizzlies likely don’t want to pick up his expensive $16.9 million player option for 2014-15. They’re a capped-out team that sees promise in younger power forward Ed Davis, who’s a restricted free agent.

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Through 21 games, the 10-11 Grizzlies are one of the worst scoring teams and are dead-last in three-pointers made (97). Anderson is leading the league in that category per game (3.7), 0.3 more than each of the Splash Brothers, Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson.

Because of Randolph’s $18.2 million current salary, the Pelicans’ incoming aggregate salaries would have to be within $5 million of the aggregate outgoing salaries going to the Grizzlies. Therefore, in addition to Anderson ($8.3 million), the Pelicans could consider including Al-Farouq Aminu ($3.7 million) and Austin Rivers ($2.3 million) in the deal. According to two sources, Rivers is unhappy with his playing time and would be open to a trade.

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Rivers is only 21, and has been buried this season at the 2 position behind Eric Gordon, Tyreke Evans and Anthony Morrow. Sometimes a kid as talented as Rivers simply needs more reps.Speaking of Gordon, a source believes he will be traded this season in a move to wipe off the maximum deal he signed with the Phoenix Suns in 2012 (through 2016 with a player option), and to make Evans, who signed a long-term deal with the Pelicans this past summer, the starting shooting guard.

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Update: On Thursday, another source commented on a potential Randolph-Anderson trade: “New Orleans is not sure if they want to pull the trigger. They are playing OK without Davis, so I don’t think they want to pull the trigger until they can see what they have at full strength.”

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No. 4:Lakers’ Gasol blames D’Antoni’s system for struggles — Lakers forward Pau Gasol, an unrestricted free agent this summer, told our own Scott Howard-Cooper that he is more or less open to leaving L.A. this offseason. Gasol even seemed to warm up to the idea of returning to where his NBA career started, Memphis, to play alongside his brother Marc. The reason for Gasol’s desire to get out of L.A. can probably be directly traced to what he had to say after yesterday’s practice to Bill Plaschke of the Los Angeles Times. Essentially, the long-standing lack of chemistry between Gasol and coach Mike D’Antoni — a topic that is apparently not broached between the two men — seems to be what’s pushing Gasol out of L.A.:

In one corner of the Lakers’ practice gym stood Pau Gasol, his constant smile pulled tight.

“The fact that I’m not getting the ball in the post affects directly my aggressiveness,” he said. “When I’m not getting the ball where I want to, where I’m most effective, where I can bang guys and utilize my skill, that affects my aggressiveness and overall intensity.”

“I can’t lie to him… Our numbers tell us the worst thing we do is post up,” he said.

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Once the most embraced Laker, Gasol has become the most scorned. His reluctant offense and dissolvable defense have elicited a dark rumble from Staples Center fans every time he goes near the ball. He is shooting a career-low 42%, five opposing big men have already run over him to equal or top their career best in points, and everyone has been wondering when Pau Gasol is going to fight back.

On Thursday, in his own kindly way, he finally did.

In an interview before the team left to board a plane for Friday night’s game in Oklahoma City, Gasol made clear what he usually only intimates. He said he believes his poor play is a result of his poor usage in D’Antoni’s system. He said he has come to the conclusion that he just doesn’t fit.

“This year hasn’t been ideal, certain things are not ideal for me, but that’s not going to change any time soon,” he said.

So why hasn’t it been ideal?

“What do you think?” he said. “I’m not going to say anything, but it’s easy to see. You see a guy with a certain skill set, where does it fit better, where it doesn’t.”

When asked about D’Antoni’s sometimes pointed criticism of his toughness, Gasol shrugged.

“I don’t pay attention. Mike is sometimes all over the place, I don’t give much credit to things like that,” he said.

When asked if D’Antoni has ever discussed this criticism with him directly, for the first time in the interview, Gasol sounded irked.

“Nope, zero. Nope, zero,” he said. “Like I said, it’s not ideal, but it is what it is.”

A few minutes later, in another part of the emptying gym, D’Antoni offered his own shrug and acknowledged he has never discussed his criticisms directly with Gasol.

“We know how he has to be,” D’Antoni said. “We talk, but he has to produce. He knows how to play, he knows what he has to do.”

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He’s been beaten up here mentally, having been both traded and benched in the last three seasons. He’s also not aging ideally, with Kobe Bryant acknowledging Thursday that he counseled Gasol to consider adding to his game by losing some pounds.

“I told him I thought the thing that really helped me out, I dropped some weight,” Bryant said. “I told him he should probably measure it himself, see if that’s something he needs to do himself. As we get older, our metabolism slows, we quietly become a little heavy.”

To the human condition, add the D’Antoni condition, in which Gasol is being asked to play a system that really doesn’t suit him. It is perhaps an equation for the sort of tentativeness, even listlessness, that Gasol has shown even in the biggest of moments.

“Pau is a great guy, a great player, but the focus has gone away from him a little bit in the last few years,” D’Antoni said. “After a while it gets frustrating, you lose your confidence, you get a little nicked up here and there, you don’t battle through it, it’s tough.”

D’Antoni said he is confident Gasol will find himself. Gasol doesn’t seem so sure. He said he would never ask to leave a place that has mostly loved him during seven seasons and two championships, but, seriously, once they trade you once, can you ever feel settled again?

“I love being here, I love my teammates, I love the city … but [a trade] is a possibility,” Gasol said.

***

No. 5:Lawson should play tonight vs. Utah — Nuggets point guard Ty Lawson has been out of Denver’s lineup since Dec. 6, which is when he strained his left hamstring while playing against the Boston Celtics. Lawson has slowly been ramping up his participation in practice over the last week and seems to be ready for his return to the lineup against the Utah Jazz tonight, writes Aaron J. Lopez of Nuggets.com:

Seeking an accurate report on the health of his starting point guard, Nuggets coach Brian Shaw issued a mandate for anyone defending Ty Lawson in practice Thursday.

Attack him and see what happens.

“I told the guys, ‘Don’t baby him. Go at him. That will let us know if he’s ready to play or not,’ ” Shaw said. “They did. They challenged him. He stepped up to it and I think proved to himself in his mind, he can make the stops and goes and things he needs to do.”

Barring any setback, Shaw expects to have Lawson back in the lineup when the Nuggets open a four-game homestand Friday night against the Utah Jazz.

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“It felt good,” Lawson said after practice. “I’ll see if it gets sore tonight or (Friday) and make a decision.”

Lawson, who leads Denver in scoring and assists, has missed two straight games and wants to ensure he does not aggravate the injury by returning too soon.

“I felt something I had never felt before in my hamstring,” Lawson said. “I wanted to give it two or three days, try to practice once and then see what’s going on.”

ICYMI(s) Of The Night:Back when Deron Williams and Chris Paul were on the Jazz and Hornets, respectively, they provided some of the best point guard showdowns in the NBA. They were up to their old tricks last night …

58 Comments

I don’t get how Pau doesn’t get the ball in the post. Mike D’Antoni must be on crack. When Phil Jackson was still coaching this team, Pau Gasol was producing a ton with limited touches because he was getting the ball where he wanted it. Every player was producing when they got the ball, which wasn’t often….they got it where they wanted it. I’m not saying Pau is going to produce as much as he did in prior years but damn you might as well give him the ball in the post because clearly that’s what he wants. I also don’t get how the Lakers are worse when he’s getting the ball in the post. Worst case scenario is he gets his shot blocked or turns it over….but turning it over in the paint is much better than turning it over on the perimeter because you still have guys who can get back on defense.

Mind boggling how D’Antoni is still the coach of this team or any team for that matter. He is god awful. I remember last year in one of the games, they gave up 60 something points at the half and when they interviewed him on the sideline he was talking about how his offense isn’t playing well. Dude is clueless.

If they’d hired Phil Jackson like they should have no one would be having this conversation. Dwight would likely still be a Laker and they’d be legit contenders this year. I like D’Antoni from his time with the Suns but his style just wasn’t right for the roster the Lakers had. I can’t understand why no one in the Lakers organization saw that. They were perfectly suited for the triangle offense, A dominate center, a versatile stretch 4, and the closest you can get to Michael Jordan at shooting guard.

I agree that DAntoni has to go he polarises people more than Kobe but at least Kobe has brought 5 rings. I think the biggest problem with LA is when Jennie and Phil going to take over the management decisions of the team and get it back on track.

Does anyone else remember how bernie bickerstaff went 4-1 as interim coach? Not sure why they didn’t give him a chance instead of going for D’antoni. Might have turned out better. Well either that or brian shaw…

1. D’antonio has always been a terrible coach, period end of story. 2. D’antonio wasn’t taken over Phil, Phil wanted more than to just be the coach. 3. I have always said Pau should go home and play with his brother, but they can’t lose Z-Bo to get him.

it’s been a year now, Gasol and D’Antoni don’t like each other and can’t be in the same team. there were rumors (and stats) now it’s even public. lakers front office needs to wake up.
do they like the coaching? then trade Gasol now and try to get something back for him before he walks for nothing.
do they not like the coaching? then fire D’Antoni. I can live with that for sure.

I am both a Laker fan of 40 years and a Pau Gasol fan. When the Lakers were making the finals he was great. Last year it was my inclination to blame coach for using him incorrectly but this year I am blaming Pau. He has been atrocious this year. He can’t hit wide open 15 footers with any decent percentage and he looks bad in the past too. But worse than that, he has been TERRIBLE on defense. He can’t blame coach that virtually never rotates and is awful at challenging shots.

In general, the Lakers have been better with him off the floor than on it as his season long +/- of -4.8 would indicate.

I have been hopeful that he would come around but I am starting to lose faith.

Pau Gasol needs to look in the mirror and take ownership for his poor play to-date. He needs to be the best he can be under the current system before he can expect coach to make any changes to accommodate him.

Lakers you have to understand that Mike is not the coach for us. He doesn’t understand the players and doesn’t know how to make them play together. Gasol and Bryant have to stay together. There is a lot of young blood coaches. Just ask our Zen Mentor who is the better for us.
I will be a Laker Fan forever!

Kobe the best SG in history !!!! I just feel bad the fact that his career will come to an end with D’Antoni as his coach, he will never win a championship with this guy…please get Phil and some good players to surround Kobe !!!

In your blog, you write that: “Lowry has wanted a trade for most of the season …”
Today, there was a video where a reporter asked Lowry if he has asked for a trade and his response was a blatant: “no”.

Can you please provide me with a source for your claim? Or am I supposed to believe whatever you write because you are the god of all things basketball?

D’antoni is a terrible coach on reason he got the job is cause he banging the boss daughter , that after phil jackson was done with her . jackson saw the iceberg of 2011 season and decide to jump off the ship completely to live peacefully in Zen island.

Jr smith should go with. Felton . Not two great young players and they need Vasquez not lowrey he fits them better . While they are at it , can somebody find us a backup cente please so everyone can play their right position?

Lakers fans get caught up in Laker nostalgia with regards to Pau Gasol when the truth is he is old and slow and doesnt really fit anywhere in todays NBA when absolutely every big man in the league has a career high or near career high going agaisnt him. Bigs now shoot jumpers and he can’t close out. They face him on the elbow and go past him. They post him up and they bully him inside. Then on offense D’Antoni has him shooting wide open 15 footers off screen and rolls and he can’t make them. He also does indeed post up and misses horribly. The guy is done as an elite player. I don’t know what’s going to happen to Gasol once he goes to another team and realizes the problem is not D’antoni the problem is his declining skills and delusional mentality.

The Knicks front office has no foresight and as an organization are terrible at developing talent. They should keep shumpert and their rookie. I like how they are considering trading two of their few good defenders in shump and artest the maniac. What they need to do is blackmail a league gm into taking Amare’s 18 million dollar contract. either way Its good to see the expensive overpaid teams like the Knicks and Nets doing so poorly this year, not a big fan of fixing problems with money alone.

Also I think we are starting to see the effect of the new luxury tax penalties especially in the small market teams like Memphis. Instead of being able to keep their core of Zebo and Gasol, while developing younger talent and being good for the next 4 years, they have to dump big contracts and be more crafty.

Gasol is an incredible player and one of the most elegants in history. He tries to do his best. He does try, but this D’A… I’m spanish. Let’s see Pau in Fiba WC! Será apasionante verlo liderar a España VS USA. But D’A seems not to realize!

the actual lakers coach, is the biggest joke of the nba. i don’t understand that a legendary franchise take a defensive clown disneyland basketball coach. do you see brad pitt or dicaprio dating the old big phat elephant of your hood ?? seriously
Now, new york. i stopped to be a fan of them when they took carmelo, it’s the same thing as the lakers coach, bad casting. i hope he will quit the knicks to be able to build a real contender team with a real franchise player.

He has been disrespected long enough by the Lakers fanbase for things completely out of his control. He became the third option in favor of Andrew Bynum. Then Dwight Howard. Now because they’re in a Mike D’Antoni system, he thinks it’s completely okay to ignore one of the most skilled big men in the game. I don’t blame Pau ONE BIT for leaving. Personally, I love him and want him to stay. But I completely understand why he’d want to leave, because enough is enough.

I like the Lowry trade to New York. He deserves better. Gasol should fly out of the Staples Center as soon as he possibly can. Dead relationship. It would be nice if he could play with his brother. Zack Randolph to New Orleans sounds good too. Metta World Peace to Toronto? He’s being bounced around like a ping pong ball. Whatever happened to the Clippers getting Odom? Sounds like the trade talks are heating up again. Exciting.

D’antoni is the problem…..always has been and always will be. You cannot expect aging players to go up and down the floor because MD wants to run the offense like he did in Phoenix…..not going to work. This isn’t the showtime of the 80’s.

Finally NY is making serious move to get rid of Felton & replace him with a better PG. I hope they can get it done and move forward to get a playoff spot!

Seems like Zach Randolph.is getting the same goodbye as Rudy Gay…..Memphis Grizz management…how can you run your organization like this? The trade you have in mind is not going to make you a better contender in the West, not now and not in 3 years…Isn’t that what the fans want? So pay the big guy and let him finish it in Memphis!

This is Jim’s Karma for dissing Phil and went with Mike..and I know he won’t admit it or he’s in denial. Mike doesn’t know how to coach great players. Keep putting great skillsets aside and don’t know how to utilize them. Just like I said about not many team has a twin tower like Gasol and Dwight and he refused to use them both at the same time.

If Pau Gasol starts to guard the hoop some time during the season, he might be able to say something about his offensive aggressiveness. But I’ve seen the game against the suns and both Morris Brothers toyed with him like they where cats who could not decide which of them would get to eat the mouse. his effort on the defensive is just atrocious, while he is in a contract year.